Federal Bills To Regulate Cannabis Like Alcohol Are Filed

There is so much breaking news in the cannabis world at the moment that it is hard to keep up. Multiple cannabis reform bills have been introduced in Congress and the House Financial Services Committee is addressing banking access for state-legal cannabis businesses. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever envision the possibility of federal cannabis legalization in my lifetime!

I love that some of our elected officials have a sense of humor. The bills for cannabis reform have been appropriately name S420 and HR420.

Allow state-legal cannabis businesses to take normal business tax deductions available to those in other industries

S422 is the only one of the 3 bills of Senator Wyden’s that has co-sponsors; Senators Rand Paul, (R-KY), Michael Bennett (D-CO) and Patty Murray (D-WA).

Senator Wyden, a longtime cannabis advocate, recognizes that continued federal prohibition is wrong. Furthermore, he believes that the consequences of this unjust law have ruined too many lives. It has also quashed too many economic opportunities which would have provided revenue for state governments and created hundreds of thousands of jobs. “It is time for Congress to respect the will of voters in Oregon and nationwide, who are demanding common-sense drug policies.”

House Bill 420 “Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act”

Longtime cannabis advocate and activist House Representative Earl Blumenaur (D-OR03) filed a comparable bill this week in the House of Representatives. For years, Rep Blumenaur has co-sponsored federal spending bill riders to prohibit the DOJ from using federal monies to shut down state-legal medical cannabis businesses.

Rep Blumenaur is also the Chairman of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus which was created in 2017. It is a bipartisan group whose goal is to align federal laws prohibiting cannabis usage with those states whose laws permit it. The other 3 members of the Caucus include Reps Barbara Lee (D-CA), Dave Joyce (R-OH) and Don Young (R-OH).

Here are the main points of this bill:

Remove cannabis from the CSA and regulate it like alcohol

The enforcement of cannabis laws by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will be replaced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will assume the same oversight over cannabis products as it does towards alcohol

By treating cannabis like alcohol, interstate commerce will be allowed. This will help Rep Blumenauer’s home state of Oregon where the lack of restrictions on the number of cultivation licenses issued has led to oversupply of cannabis. This has caused prices to plummet

Legalization would also significantly increase the need for tamper-proof and child-proof packaging that would be required to comply with new federal regulations.

The cannabis real estate investment market would also greatly benefit from legalization as all 50 states would open up to expansion of legal cannabis and adjunct businesses.

Bill To Give Cannabis Businesses Access to Banks in Legal Cannabis States Gets House Committee Hearing

A bipartisan bill that would give cannabis businesses access to banking and financial institutions in states where cannabis has been legalized will receive a House Financial Services Committee hearing. Federal banking regulators would be prohibited from discouraging or penalizing banks which service state-legal cannabis businesses.

This is unprecedented in US history. The sponsors are Rep Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) and Rep Denny Heck (D-WA) with support by GOP Reps Warren Davidson and Steve Stivers from Ohio.

The legislation will help those businesses that do not produce or directly sell cannabis or cannabis-related products but who provide services for the cannabis industry. Many of these adjunct businesses faced account closures by major banks for fear of federal reprisals.

Perlmutter intends to introduce the bill in the next few weeks and hopes there will be a crossfiled bill in the Senate.

About Post Author

I am a Chicagoan, a senior, a mom of an adopted teenage boy with SPD, a licensed massage therapist, married to a native Brit, with a passion about all things cannabis. I blog about the wonder that is the cannabis plant. I have been an advocate for over 40 years and I am determined to see it become federally legal before I leave this planet.

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